Ecumenical Patriarchate releases pan-Orthodox council’s draft documents
June 03, 2016
The press office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has made public the draft documents that will be discussed at the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church, which is scheduled to begin on June 18 at the Orthodox Academy in Kolymvari, Crete.
The documents are entitled “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World,” “The Orthodox Diaspora,” “Autonomy and the Means by Which it is Proclaimed,” “The Sacrament of Marriage and its Impediments,” “The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today,” and “Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World.”
“It is the first time in 1,200 years that 14 autocephalous Orthodox churches are meeting,” the press office stated. “Approximately 500 individuals will be part of this historic gathering, with a common desire to reinforce their relations and address contemporary spiritual and social challenges in the world.”
On June 1, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church announced its unanimous decision not to participate in the council unless it is postponed for a year.
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Further information:
- OFFICIAL ADVANCE DOCUMENTS (Ecumenical Patriarchate Press Office)
- L’Église orthodoxe de Bulgarie demande le report du Concile panorthodoxe (Orthodoxie.com)
- Bulgarian Church withdraws from Pan-Orthodox Council (CWN, 6/1)
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